Virgin Health?

If anyone had any doubts as to what's happening to the UK's National
Health Service (NHS) please read below extracted from the excellent
newsletter Health Campaigners' News published by the the NHS Support Federation and the national Keep Our NHS Public campaign.

Virgin Healthcare - the new model NHS?

Virgin Healthcare, part of Sir Richard Branson's sprawling business
empire, has announced that it will be opening the first of six new
health centres later this year. The company is encouraging GPs to join
the new branded clinics, while retaining their existing contracts.
Virgin would manage GP funds for staff and rental costs, and would
offer additional, private, services to patients. These private services
could include dentistry as well as homeopathy and other complementary
therapies.

Mark Britnell, the director of commissioning at the
Department of Health, has welcomed the move, pointing out that over
£1bn worth of contracts will be available for companies such as Virgin
to bid for as part of the government's plan for 250 new health centres
and GP practices.

The company is planning a roadshow of 26 evening events at
locations around the country in February and March, targeted at "GPs
and their clinical staff" to "explain our plans in more detail and
welcome your feedback". See the Virgin Healthcare website at http://www.virginhealthcare.net/ for a full list of dates and venues, and to book a place.

Unison has said "We are absolutely opposed to the move by Virgin Group
into GP surgeries .... It is deeply alarming that a private company
such as Virgin Group will be marketing its additional services to
potentially vulnerable patients when they are in need of medical care
as if they were visiting a gym .... [We should not] allow health
centres to be run by gym managers." The union has also made the point
that some GPs have failed to meet their patients' needs in areas such
as out-of-hours care because they have been acting as private companies
and pursuing their own requirements rather than those of their
patients.

About the author

Alan Hughes is a graphic artist at New Internationalist. He is a life-long socialist and trade unionist and is currently involved in the Keep Our NHS Public Campaign. He is passionate about The Beatles and has supported Aston Villa FC for over 50 years. He lives in Oxford with his daughter.

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